Elevator - Phobia
by Sadainea
Summary: Andy's late. Emily pulls her onto an elevator. Problem? Andy's afraid of elevators.


A/N – For my darling other half. He keeps me sane on elevators and really is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you. Giving Andy a fear of my own in this one. The fear of elevators affects thousands of people. It's just not fair that it doesn't have its own name on the phobia lists.

Disclaimer – I do not own. Wish I did. I merely worship at the altar.

Andy was late. She had woken up late. The only reason she really woke up at all was because Emily had called demanding to know where she was and why she wasn't at work yet. Apparently her now ex-boyfriend, having broken up with him this morning for this incident, came in drunk last night, stumbled and knocked her alarm clock off her nightstand, unplugging it in the process. Andy, completely exhausted, barely having had time in the last few weeks to scratch much less eat or get proper sleep, had gotten home and promptly fell asleep on the couch as soon as she sat down and removed her shoes. Hopefully the bumbling idiot would be gone by the time she got home.

Not that she was depressed about him leaving. Andy had known for months that it wouldn't work between them. She was head over heels in love with someone else. The problem being, that someone else barely knew she existed. That someone was Miranda Priestly, her boss. She would do anything for that woman. She had known for most of her time working with the woman that she loved her, since the hurricane in Miami at least. When Miranda had looked at her and told her that she had disappointed her more than any of the other silly girls, she knew. The pain that cut through her chest at that comment threatened to steal her sanity. That moment she recognized that it wouldn't have affected her so much if she hadn't loved the older woman to distraction.

So now, rushing through the door to Elias-Clarke publishing, Miranda's coffee the only thing that kept her fingers warm as the icy winds of early December bit through her jacket, she cursed herself for not thinking to set the alarm on her phone. Miranda was right behind her and, if Miranda didn't get her coffee as soon as she walked into the office, it would be a very bad day for Andy. The entire building would blame her for the editor's bad mood and would positively hate her for the next 24 hours. She was so lost in her own thoughts and worries, as she headed for the stairs, that she didn't notice Emily stalking towards her until the angry woman had grabbed her arm and was hauling her towards the elevators. Terror threatened to overwhelm her as her mind only caught snippets of the angry words the British woman was hissing in her ear. She couldn't find the strength in herself to try and fight as she was lead on to the suspended death trap.

The metal doors slid closed and the cab gave a lurch, signaling its ascent. Andy screamed. The coffee she held hit the floor and splattered everywhere. The mind numbing fear that engulfed her body blacked out any and all memory of whom or what she had become. She was suddenly that 7 year old little girl fighting to keep out of the horrid and frightening memories that surged up and tried to drown her with their intensity. Andy stumbled and her back met the cold siding in the box. She slid down slowly cradling her head in her hands trying to block out images.

The memories swirled through her mind and suffocated her. She couldn't seem to get enough air and the oxygen in the small space seemed to be running out. She sucked in breath after breath trying to stay conscious. It wasn't working well but she kept trying. She felt cold. Her chest started to ache and she felt dizzy. She didn't realize that she was hyperventilating. She didn't realize that her own attempts to stay conscious were actually the cause of her dizziness.

Emily stood watching this play out, unsure of what to do. She watched the girl fall back against the wall and feared that she would accidentally hurt herself in her attempt to escape whatever was going on in her head. Not knowing what was going on or what to do she simply stood watching as the second assistant screamed and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Vaguely Andy heard the doors slide open and ran. She hurried from her place in the back corner of the elevator towards the one place she wouldn't have to face anyone. The art department over the past few months had become her refuge and in her dazed attempt to remember who and where she was it was the only place that her child like mind knew she would be safe.

When she reached her destination she immediately dove under a desk. A place to hide. The memories couldn't find her as long as she stayed hidden. Her hands came up to grip her hair and she shook her head as if to shake the fear free.

Emily watched the woman run from the elevator headed for the art department. She rolled her eyes. If the idiot girl wanted to lose her job for not doing it, that was on her. She certainly wasn't going to try and stop her. She had seen Miranda getting out of her car as they had gotten on the elevator and so, had way too much to do in extremely little time to be concerned with the other assistant.

Miranda was snapping orders at Nigel as she made her way across the lobby. Both had just come from a meeting with some new and upcoming designer whose name Miranda didn't recall. Already in a foul mood it only proceeded to get worse when she had to wait for her elevator. When it finally did arrive, the fact that her coffee was spilled across the bottom of it instead of sitting on her desk only furthered he ire at her staff and their incompetence. Though pausing for a moment she realized who exactly brought her coffee to her every morning and felt her blood freeze.

Andréa never took the elevators. Miranda wasn't sure why but she knew she never did. So why was her coffee lying in one of the metal boxes when she was certain that the young, vibrant, beautiful, second assistant, whom she was having the devil of a time hiding her feelings from, always took the stairs? Shaking her head to clear away such thoughts she allowed the lift to take her to her office. Stepping into the corridor and following it to the outer office she immediately realized that her second and most trusted assistant wasn't there.

"Emily, where is Andréa? Has she died? Or is she simply looking to lose her job?"

"I-I don't know Miranda. She was late coming in this morning and I didn't want her to take the stairs and be late getting your coffee to you. I pulled her onto the elevator and she had some sort of fit." Emily was wringing her hands together, trying to explain where the idiot girl went.

"Who had a fit?" Nigel had come up behind the two women.

"What happened then Emily?" Miranda demanded waving a hand to silence the art director's questions.

"She started screaming and dropped your coffee. When the doors opened she ran off into the building somewhere. I don't know where she went."

"Find her. I don't care what you have to do find her and send her to me." Miranda snapped. She stormed into her office and slammed the door shut. Once alone she began to pace. Andréa had had a fit. What kind of fit? What she ok? Where was she? Questions marched through her mind like soldiers going to battle. A battle that she knew she was going to lose. She was in love with Andréa Sachs. She had been since that night in the hotel room in Paris when the young woman had comforted her. Staring out the window the editor lost herself in her thoughts.

Outside Nigel looked over at Emily, who in turn shook her head and sat back down at her desk. The man made his way to his office and began to gather his utensils to get down to work for the day. His mind wandered to all that had happened today. He was worried about Six but his deadline was approaching fast. He didn't have time to wonder about where the young woman may have disappeared to this time.

He flipped on his light table and that's when he heard it. A rasping breath was drawn in followed by a quiet whimper. Looking around he didn't see anyone in his office at first. So he looked closer. Bending down he looked under his desk and gasped at what he saw. Andy was shaking and crying under his desk. Her face was so pale she could have been dead and her lips were beginning to turn blue. The poor girl looked like she had seen her worst fear come to life. He reached for her and as soon as he touched her she screamed and he snatched his hand away. Sitting down on the ground the art director resigned himself to simply watch over her until help arrived.

"SERENA!" he shouted, and the Brazilian woman came running in.

"Nigel what-"

"Call 911 immediately then go to Miranda's office and tell her that I found Andy. We need an ambulance here NOW!" Nigel interrupted the woman and sent her on her way. The tall blonde hurried out and was on the phone with emergency personnel before she left the room.

"It's going to be ok Six. I can't say I know what is going on but help is on the way."

Serena hurried along the hall dodging in and out of designers, assistants, and models on her way to Miranda's office. She spoke quickly to the people on the other end of her phone explaining their current situation and where they were. She hated being so insanely worried about the shorter brunette and being completely unable to help her.

Emily's head snapped up as she stalked by. The British woman looked like she was about to say something but Serena stopped her with a raised hand, the universal sign that the woman should keep her mouth shut, and stalked into Miranda's office. The editor was standing at the window, her face completely void of expression.

"Miranda the paramedics are on their way."

At this statement the older woman spun around. "Paramedics?"

"Yes. We found Andy. She is curled up under Nigel's desk hyperventilating. She is deathly pale and her lips are turning blue. Nigel can't get her to calm down." The Brazilian woman informed her boss. She stumbled a little as she was promptly brushed aside as Miranda, at nearly a sprint, headed for the art department.

Upon arriving Miranda took notice of two things. One, Nigel was sitting on the floor, and two, Nigel was talking to the corner of his desk farthest away from him. Hurrying over she knelt next to him. The sight in front of her forced the wind from her lungs. Andréa looked like she was dead. Her only indications that the young woman was alive was the hard shaking, shallow breathing, and soft whimpers coming from her.

"Andréa." At the sound of her name spoken from the older woman's lips a dark head snapped up. Seeing the terror in eyes that had clouded over and had none of the usual brilliance that usually lurked behind them, none of the light that shone so brightly, the editor merely opened her arms. She was almost knocked over when her assistant's slight body met hers rather violently. She held her and whispered gentle nothings in her ear as they waited for the paramedics to arrive.

Andy was floating. She couldn't seem to bring herself down from the fear and an over of excess oxygen induced high she had caused herself. Vaguely she heard a familiar voice telling her that help was coming and that everything was going to be ok, but none of the words meant anything to her. They were only sounds that her brain couldn't seem to comprehend. The memories of the accident overwhelmed and threatened to drown her.

A…drea…

And…a…

A…dre…

"Andréa." The sound of that voice cut through the fog. It was synonymous with only one concept that her fear addled brain seemed to understand. Safe. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the only thing that seemed to make sense to her mind. Miranda. If Miranda was here she knew she would be safe, and in that instant she launched herself toward the only thing that made coherent sense. The only thing that she could actively understand. She felt the warm strong bands of the woman's arms close around her and the storm inside eased, just a little.

She clung to the older woman, her life raft. Her nails dug into Miranda's skin. The closer she got the closer she still wanted to be. It was almost like she was trying to crawl inside the editor. Her breathing hadn't calmed down and neither had her shaking. She was still crying and when she felt a hand grab her arm to drag her away from Miranda, quiet whimpers turned into full throated screams.

Miranda held the dark haired, terrified, beauty in her arms, gently stroking her back. The tremors still racked her frame and she was still struggling to breath. She felt nails clawing at her but didn't care. The only thing that mattered was how cold Andréa's skin was, how short and quick her breathing was, how pale she was.

There were hurried footsteps and the sound of wheels rolling over marble. The paramedics had finally arrived. The man in front reached for the precious cargo in the editors arms. His hand closed gently around her upper arm and the young woman let forth an ear piercing scream. Miranda knocked the man's hand away from the girl and growled, "If you lay another hand on her you will be out of your job before noon." Scooping Andréa up in her arms she herself sat on the gurney with the woman cradled against her. She knew they would have to take the elevator. There was no way to get down to the ambulance otherwise. Very carefully she threaded her fingers into dark curls and turned the young woman's head so that is was buried in her neck and she couldn't see what was happening or where they were going. Nodding to the medics they were off.

Once in the contraption that had caused all of this in the first place Miranda began to speak, very softly, in Andréa's ear. Keeping her focused on the sound of her voice instead of the movement of the steel box. Quiet whimpers continued to come from the young woman and when they reached the lobby Miranda couldn't help but release a sigh of relief that she hadn't had another melt down.

Being loaded into the back of an ambulance one of the paramedics, the one that hadn't grabbed her before glanced at the two. "I need to give her a sedative. It will calm her down and stop her hyperventilating so that she can breathe properly. It will also allow her to rest. Depending on how long she has been in this state, she may not have a voice for several days. An unfortunate side effect of breathing that much that quickly."

Miranda very gently took Andréa's arm and turned it so that her elbow was down. She held the girls hand and nearly cried as the girl whimpered and squirmed to get away from the man's hand as he inserted an IV into her arm. As soon as the sedative had been administered her breathing evened out and she dropped off into sleep. She moved and laid Andréa down on the gurney and sat in the vacant seat to finish her ride to the hospital.

Andy was floating. Her mind was twisting and flowing, not so unlike a creek running through a forest. She was vaguely aware of a quiet beeping and a gentle shaking. Her hand was warm. Slowly the fog that was wrapped around her began to fade. She became aware of a dampness that covered her fingers. Someone was holding her hand. Struggling slightly she opened her eyes.

Miranda was sitting next to her, her head laid on the bed and Andy's hand under her cheek. The woman had a tight grip on the appendage. This confused Andy to no end. Why would her boss, the Dragon Lady, be crying at her bed side?

Shifting her hand she ran her fingers over Miranda's hair. The older woman's head shot up and stared at her. The editor's face was tear stained and pale. Mascara was running down her face and her eyes were red rimmed from her tears. She looked every bit the part of a disheveled, scared lover. When she saw that Andy was awake she stood and sat down on the edge of the bed. She very gently brushed a hand over the young woman's hair.

"You're awake." She stated simply.

"Yes." Andy managed to croak out. She watched as Miranda tuned and grabbed a glass of water from the table and held it to her lips. Andy took a sip then leaned back down.

"How do you feel?" Miranda asked.

"My throat hurts, and my whole body aches." She stated truthfully.

"The doctors said that was normal. Breathing too fast caused your sore throat. That should go away in a few days." Her thumb ran over her cheek.

"And being sore?" the young woman wanted to know.

"Tension. You held yourself so tightly because of how scared you were that you completely exhausted every muscle in your body. You are going to be extremely sore for at least a week." Miranda answered.

"Oh. How long have I been asleep? Why are you here?" Andy wanted to know.

"Only a few hours, and because I needed to be sure you were alright. You may not have noticed but I do care about you, Andréa, though I am not very good at expressing it and cannot express it in a professional setting." Miranda looked slightly awkward. "I have had the devil of a time trying to treat you like just an assistant though."

"Miranda, I-" Andy was interrupted as a man in a white coat walked in.

"Oh, you're awake, wonderful. My name is Dr. Reed and I daresay you gave your friend here quite the scare. Wanna tell us both what happened?" he sat down at the computer across the room from the two women.

"I got home from work late last night. The Book took longer than usual to get put together and it's been kinda hectic lately with the print deadline coming up soon. I walked in the door and sat down on my couch and pulled off my shoes. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Emily was calling me wanting to know where I was and why I wasn't at work yet. I got up to go in and get dressed and try to make it to work on time when I found my, I hesitate to call him my boyfriend because we haven't had any sort of relationship in several months, had stumbled in drunk and unplugged my alarm clock. I got dressed and all that and just made it through the doors to Elias-Clarke when Miranda pulled up behind me. I was going to go up the stairs like I do every day but Em grabbed me and dragged me into the metal death trap and, well everything after that is a blur up until I heard Miranda say my name. It was like I was drowning. I couldn't get enough air. But then when you said my name it was like a life raft appeared and I held on." Andy was shaking by this point and Miranda held her hand and stroked over her knuckles.

"So you have a major fear of elevators?" the doctor asked.

"Was that not obvious from the earlier incident?" Miranda snapped.

Andy placed her hand on the editor's arm and nodded at the doctor. She wasn't sure where she and the older woman were headed but she didn't want her to get thrown out of the hospital for verbally assaulting the staff. "Yes I am absolutely terrified of elevators. There was an accident 20 years ago. I was 7 and one let go. It fell 3 floors before it hit the bumper at the bottom of the shaft. I was so small that I bounced when it finally stopped and ended up with a concussion and was stuck in the elevator for six hours before the work crews finally got me out. I haven't been on one since."

Miranda stared at Andy completely amazed at what this young woman had gone through and managed to come out sane. The editor was far beyond sure that if anything like that had happened to her she would have needed to be hospitalized for driving herself insane in the small metal box. "Andréa I-"

"Don't worry about it Miranda. I'm ok. And don't punish Em either. She didn't know. No one knew. It's not exactly something I enjoy talking about on a daily basis." Andy pleaded her friend's case to their boss hoping that it would do some good with the older woman. The look in her eyes though told her that she wasn't happy with her request.

"Andréa, if Emily had left you to your daily routine this never would have happened. If she hadn't been so impatient then you would not be in pain, nor would you be in the hospital. This truly is all her fault." Miranda tried to reason, but Andy was shaking her head.

"No. I don't want this to reflect on her at all. It is my fault for not telling anyone. Please Miranda, don't fire her, or demote her, or ruin her or anything. Please?"

Miranda looked Andréa in the eye. The young woman was quite serious about nothing happening to the first assistant. She seemed quite adamant about it in fact. To the point that the older female was sure that if she did anything to the British woman that Andréa would probably quit her job. Then where would she be? Without the young woman who had captured her heart. The only person that she really trusted besides her girls. Her girls, she had heard them discussing Andréa a number of times over the past few months. More frequently since the Harry Potter manuscript incident. They looked up to this young woman in a way that Miranda would never be able to understand, and she was sure that if she was to quit her job and not come around to deliver the book and talk to the twins anymore, that Caroline and Cassidy would be severely upset with their mother.

"Miranda?"

"Alright Andréa, I won't do anything." She conceded, after all, she would do anything for her girls, Andy included.

"Well, now that that is settled, I think we can go ahead and start on your discharge papers, on the condition that you don't go home and stay alone. We don't want you to relapse into the memories and not have anyone there to call 911." Dr. Reed said.

"That's not a problem Dr.," Miranda said, "She will be coming home with me so I can keep an eye on her."

"I will?" Andy asked quietly.

"Yes, you will, and you aren't going to argue with me about it, clear?"

"Yes, Miranda."

"Alright then. I will return shortly with your paper work." Dr. Reed walked out of the room and the two women turned to each other.

"Miranda, you don't have to take me home with you. I can call a friend to come stay with me." Andy tried to reason.

"If you don't want to stay in my house Andréa you need only say so and I will have Roy take you home, but dancing around saying it and making it about me instead of yourself is rather annoying. I wouldn't have offered if I did not want you there." Miranda snapped.

"No! Miranda that has nothing to do with it I just don't want to intrude or be a bother. I mean, what about the girls? How are they going to react to my staying there? They may not play pranks on me anymore but they don't really know me aside from the few minutes of talking when I deliver the book."

"They will be fine with it. They completely idolize you."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Now will you stop trying to come up with excuses." Miranda stood from her seat at Andy's bedside and sat down on the bed next to her. "I want you to let me care for you Andréa. I understand that you don't necessarily feel the same way that I feel about you but I don't care. I'm willing to be nothing more than your friend if that is the only way to keep you in my life. Although now that you know I do care for you, you will most certainly have to spend more time around the townhouse, come over for dinner a few times a week and what not." Miranda rattled on, in a very un-Miranda-esque manner, about things that Andréa would 'have' to do now that she knew about her feelings. Andy didn't pay one lick of attention. Her mind was too wrapped up in the movement of Miranda's lips and the way her eyes sparkled under the florescent lights of the hospital room.

Then without thinking, or well, maybe with the ulterior motive of getting Miranda to shut up about her plans for them, Andy leaned up and kissed her. Her tongue delved into her mouth to capture the older woman's gasp. She threaded her fingers into white hair and pulled the older woman closer to her. Her whole body hurt and shrieked at her movements but she didn't care. All she could focus on was the feel of Miranda's lips moving against her and the heat that raced through the connection. Lifting her other hand she touched a soft cheek and traced the satin like skin with her thumb. Tongues touched and danced and both women moaned at the contact.

Slowly, Andy felt Miranda pull away and opened her eyes to look at the woman who owned her heart. "I will follow you to the ends of the earth if that is what you wish. We can do whatever you want, Miranda. I care about you too, more than that I am in love with you. It's why I didn't leave in Paris and why I stayed after my one year with Elias-Clarke was up. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving because I thought I would never see you again."

Miranda leaned down and kissed Andy again this time keeping it short. "I love you too, my darling. Come home with me. Stay with me and let me care for you."

"Ok, I will come and stay with you."

Dr. Reed chose that moment to walk back in the room. They took the papers and the prescribed pain killers for Andy's sore muscles. After everything was signed and gone over, Miranda wheeled her assistant out of the hospital to where Roy was waiting with the car.


End file.
